


No Other Version I'd Rather Be Tonight

by hideyourfires



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, Comfort No Hurt, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, It's what Julian deserves OK
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 17:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15890460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hideyourfires/pseuds/hideyourfires
Summary: Julian looks down at her, his face cracking into a smile. “What a shame. It seems we have the place to ourselves.”Cass grins, and Julian leans down and kisses her. It’s just a peck, at first, but he’s soon pulling her into another, and another, deepening it into something more passionate.Cass pulls away from him slightly. “Julian,” She says, a little breathless. Julian is undeterred, his lips kissing a trail from her jaw down her neck. Cass laughs, cupping his face. “Julian, wait a second.”Julian pulls away, smiling. “Yes?”“I want to see you,” She says.Julian’s face breaks into a wicked grin. “Why, of course.” He begins immediately, all too happy to oblige, his fingers unfastening the buttons at his front.Cass laughs, and lays a hand over his eager fingers. “That’s not what I meant.”





	No Other Version I'd Rather Be Tonight

They stumble through the door, this time, rather than the window. It’s just as dark inside as without, and equally cold; the hearth is unlit, and seems to have been for some time.

“Mazelinka must be out,” Julian says, pulling off his gloves as he stalks (Julian only stalks – his legs are far too long for anything else) farther inside, angling his head to peer into the gloom.

Bereft of her source of heat – Julian, his arm looped through hers – Cass drifts after her him, rubbing her hands together. “Might she be visiting Portia?”

He holds an arm out for her as she nears his side and wraps her in close, her head tucked under his chin.

“Perhaps,” He replies, his voice little distant.

He’s worried, Cass realises. These are dangerous times, after all – but she can’t imagine anything taking Mazelinka down. If anything, she can imagine the old lady scolding Lucio’s phantom into submission, tail tucked between his legs.

Julian seems to arrive at this conclusion at the same time she does; he looks down at her, his face cracking into a smile. “What a shame. It seems we have the place to ourselves.”

Cass grins, and Julian leans down and kisses her. It’s just a peck, at first, but he’s soon pulling her into another, and another, deepening it into something more passionate.

Cass pulls away from him slightly. “Julian,” She says, a little breathless. Julian is undeterred, his lips kissing a trail from her jaw down her neck. Cass laughs, cupping his face. “Julian, wait a second.”

Julian pulls away, smiling. “Yes?”

Cass bites her lip. He’s so close – it’s difficult not to kiss him. It’s difficult not to drop a kiss on his nose, then his cheek, then the corner of his lips – that he would no doubt turn his head to catch. And then they would really be in danger; there would be no stopping either of them then until they were tangled up in each other, blissfully spent.

There’s time yet.

“I want to see you,” She says.

Julian’s face breaks into a wicked grin. “Why, of course.” He begins immediately, all too happy to oblige, his fingers unfastening the buttons at his front.

Cass laughs, and lays a hand over his eager fingers. “That’s not what I meant.”

He raises an eyebrow. “No?” His tone is innocent, yet there is a smirk on his lips.

Cass is helpless to the fond smile that tugs at the corners of her lips. “Not _yet_.”

Satisfied by her response, Julian lowers his hands. “Very well, then. What _did_ you mean?”

Cass looks up at him, considering her words. “Your face,” She says. “It’s always hidden under your hair.” She reaches a hand up to trace along his cheekbone, running her fingers into the short curls just above his ear. He leans into her touch. “And – your eye.”

Julian blinks, understanding dawning on his face. “ _Oh_. You mean…?”

She offers him a soft smile. “You don’t have to wear it with me.” She reaches up her other hand, her palm pressed to his other cheek, cupping his face. He looks down at her, perfect teeth biting into his bottom lip, his cheeks flushing red. “May I?”

Julian nods, just barely. His expression is so tender, yet so hungry, even though she has barely touched him – perhaps that is why.

Cass slips her fingers under the cord of his eyepatch, easing it up over his forehead, careful not to tangle it in his hair as she pulls it free. She sets it aside, on the table, then turns back to him. His auburn hair hangs low over his eye. On tiptoe, Cass brushes it aside, combing it back into the rest of his hair with her fingers trailing along his scalp.

He looks down at her – both eyes, fixed on her face, the stormy grey of his iris of his right eye framed by red sclera. Without the restriction of his eyepatch, his expressions seem so much more raw, so much more earnest. Who could mistake this boy for a villain? Who could think he was dastardly, or anything other than tinged with sadness? And he is so beautiful. Not the first image that had come to mind when she heard the word – not his angular features, his tired eyes, the hooked bridge of his nose – but once she had seen him, it became the definition.

“You’re so beautiful, Julian,” She says, taking his face in her hands once again. She traces along the bridge of his nose, his eyebrow, the dark smudge beneath his eye. She kisses him there, just below his red eye, at the side of nose, on his lips. “I love you so much,” She whispers, her lips brushing against his.

That’s all it takes; then they are kissing, really kissing, tongue and teeth and the heat of his breath in her mouth. Julian’s fingers fly to the buttons at his chest, and Cass’s join them, fumbling blindly, and their kiss is interrupted by a smile spreading across Julian’s face, his teeth bumping clumsily against Cass’s lips.

It is at that point that there is the click of a lock, and the door opens behind her. Julian’s eyes fly wide open. Cass whips around – to see Mazelinka’s silhouette in the doorway behind her. She must see them both – they are stood in the middle of the room, the lamplight that pours in through the windows illuminating their figures – yet she makes no move, says nothing.

Cass slowly pulls Julian’s shirt closed across his chest.

Wordlessly, Mazelinka passes them both, throws aside the old rug and pulls open the hatch of the hiding hole. Then, just as she is just about to lower herself into the darkness, she looks at them, dead in the eyes, and says, “Goodnight.”

And then she disappears into the hole.

Cass looks at Julian. Julian looks at Cass. At once, they both burst into laughter. Julian rests his head on her shoulder, still chuckling, and she wraps her arms around him.

Together, they make their way over to they bed tucked away behind the curtain, dropping down onto the mattress.

“Well,” Julian says, “That was…”

“A disaster?” Cass supplies.

Julian smiles. “Brief,” He corrects. “But yes, that too.”

A moment passes, a pleasant quiet falling between them – then Julian’s long fingers touch under her chin, turning her face to him. His eyes – both of them, she realises, a wave of affection surging in her chest – look at her so intensely, yet his expression is soft.

“I didn’t get a chance to say it,” He says. “Cass…”

It’s dizzying; her heart thumps thickly and fast, its pulse like a wave washing over her.

“I love you,” He says. “More than I ever thought I would be allowed. More than I thought I would allow myself.” He takes her hand in his, staring down at it miserably. “It frightens me,” He continues, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. “I’m terrified of losing you. I don’t know what I’d do, if it happened again – and it seems as though the universe is intent on stealing you away from me.”

Cass’s heart _blooms_. She cups his face in her hands, takes up his hand and presses it to her chest, clasping it tight.

“I’m here, Julian,” She says. “And I’m not going anywhere.” She moves forward, straddling his knee, her face just inches from his. Her other hand caresses his cheek. She means to make light of it, to make him smile again. She means to say, _You’re stuck with me. For good_. It’s true. But it’s not _the_ truth; there are words more precise, more real. “I’m yours,” She breathes. She curls her hands into the back of his hair and kisses him hard. “I’m yours,” She says again, because it’s the truth. “ _I’m yours_.”

She pushes forward, pressing a messy kiss to his lips. She can’t help but grind a little on his thigh.

Julian laughs, breathless. “Cass,” He whispers. It’s a warning. Cass kisses along his jaw, the soft place just below his ear, his throat. Julian moans. “ _Cass_.”

Cass pulls away, grinning. “You can’t say those things and not expect me to kiss you.”

Julian laughs again. Cass will never tire of the sound – every burst of it is a miracle passing his lips.

Cass is overwhelmed by the urge to kiss him. She catches a similar glint in his eye, teeth sinking into his bottom lip.

She shakes her head. “We should probably sleep at opposite sides of the bed.”

A smile crosses his lips. She extracts herself from his lap, collapsing onto the mattress beside him. Julian takes a moment to pull off his boots, setting them down at his feet, then lies down at her side.

One side of his face mushed into the pillow, he looks at her through eyes hooded with sleep. He looks – at peace. Content. There is a surge of some animal emotion in Cass’s chest – the urge to protect what is hers. She will fight for this, not die but live for this, dig in her nails and clutch onto this happiness they have stolen for themselves.

Julian’s hand snakes across the mattress and ensnares hers, fingers interlocking. Cass vows never to let go.

“I love you,” She whispers, and presses a kiss to his forehead.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @sarahgotbored


End file.
